See Me
by BigScratchPad
Summary: Naruto has kept his secret well hidden until one night when things go too far. Sasuke realizes he doesn't know Naruto like he thought he did. Their friendship is put through the wringer and hung out to dry, what happens now?


**Why hello there readers. This is my second story...so I can't guarantee that this will be any good. I hope you enjoy it. Constructive criticism/feed back is very welcome. Please, please, please let me know if you enjoy the story. I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.**

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The streets were quiet aside from a few passing cars as Naruto walked alone. The street lights gave the night an orange glow. It didn't feel warm at all…just humid and sticky. He swayed back and forth, stopping ever few minutes to check if his nose was still bleeding. The bleeding had stopped thankfully. It was never this bad before. He couldn't cover this up…at least not with his friends. He sighed and went on his way.

 **143**

Naruto stood in front of a familiar house on a side street. He looked up at the windows for any sign of light. Surely enough there was one light on. The blonde looked around for something to throw at the window. He quickly whipped his nose with the back of his sleeve. He found a few pebbles to throw. He tried whispering first.

"Sasuke…" he was surprised to hear his voice. It sounded awful because of the yelling he'd done just minutes ago. He tried again and got no response. He followed up with the pebbles, which got his friends attention. The curtain was pulled back and Sasuke appeared. The raven haired teen opened the window and leaned out to see who it was.

"Sasuke let me in." his voice cracked.

"Naruto?" the raven took in the sight of Naruto. He quickly disappeared from the window. The door opened shortly after. Naruto stood looking pitiful. The raven saw tears welling in his friends eyes. He quickly grabbed Naruto by the wrist and pulled him inside. They stood in the dark hallway, Naruto trying to choke back his tears.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked concerned. He saw the blood on Naruto's shirt and face.

"Sasuke…" tears began to stream down Naruto's cheeks. Sasuke led Naruto to the bathroom and sat him down. He began to check his friend over.

"Does it hurt anywhere?" Sasuke asked softly.

"My nose and my lip…"

"Tell me if this hurts." Sasuke pressed on the bridge and other parts of Naruto's nose. "It's not broken…tell me what happened, did you get in another fight with those assholes?" Sasuke wet a towel. He began to wipe off some of the blood on Naruto's face.

"It wasn't them." Naruto looked at Sasuke. He handed the wet towel over to Naruto.

"I'm going to get you something to change into, and you're going to tell me what happened when I come back." Naruto nodded.

Naruto was now alone in the bathroom. He stood up and faced himself in the mirror to assess the damage. He wiped his tears again, he was so weak. He couldn't even defend himself. He unbuttoned his shirt and slid it off of his shoulders. He let it fall to the floor. He turned to the side and lifted up his arm, the bruising on his side had already started. Naruto bit his bottom lip to stop himself from crying.

"Naruto…" Sasuke was standing in the doorway. Naruto looked so helpless at that moment. "It's okay to cry Naruto." Sasuke stepped closer. He'd never seen his friend like this. Sasuke set the clothes down on the edge of the sink. He pulled Naruto in and hugged him tight. Naruto gripped onto Sasuke and let his tears fall.

"He…he did this to me." Naruto choked on one of his sobs.

"Who?" Sasuke asked gently as he rubbed his friends back. Naruto gripped tightened on Sasuke.

"He's been doing it…" Naruto paused to let out another sob, "doing it for years…he just hits and hits…and yells. I'm tired Sasuke…"

"Is this Orochimaru?" Sasuke held Naruto back by his hands on the blonde's shoulders. All Naruto could do was nod. Sasuke felt a sharp pain in his chest. All these years and he'd never said anything. He felt angry.

"Naruto, why didn't you tell anyone about this?" Sasuke let go of him.

"It was never this bad." Naruto grabbed for the clothes. Why was Sasuke getting angry? Sasuke stopped him.

"Naruto we have to do something about this…look at you, you look awful."

"Sasuke please…I'm tired, can't we talk about this later?" Naruto pulled away and quickly put the clean shirt on. He walked past Sasuke.

 **143**

After cleaning up the bathroom Sasuke made his way to his room. The light was still on and Naruto was curled up on one side of the bed. Sasuke crossed the room and closed the window and pulled the curtains together. With a sigh he turned off the light. He stood by the bed looking down at his friend. How could he miss something like this, how long had he been beaten for? He was always happy and goofy. Maybe he really didn't understand and know his friend like he thought he did. He pulled the blanket over Naruto and climbed into bed next to him. He rolled on his side facing Naruto's back. He reached out and placed a hand on Naruto's arm.

"I'm so sorry…" Sasuke whispered and turned away from Naruto.

 **143**

Sasuke reluctantly opened his eyes and rolled over in his bed. He lifted his head and looked around. He reached for his phone to check the time. It was an hour before he had to get up. He looked beside him. Naruto was gone. The raven sat up and rubbed his eyes, was it a dream? He slowly got up out of bed and made his way to the laundry room. He spotted the bloodied shirt in the hamper. So it wasn't a dream. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. What happens now?

 **143**

Sasuke walked into the classroom and made his way to the back of the room. He hung his backpack on the back of his chair. The seat next to him was empty. Naruto was usually late. The teacher was always late as well. The classroom was filled with chatter as usual, but it all felt different for Sasuke. He glanced at the empty seat next to him again. He sighed and opened his book. Soon after, the teacher arrived with his folders in hand. Everyone scattered to their seats. The bell rang and class started.

After a few classes it was lunch break. Sasuke and a few others were still in the classroom. Sasuke flipped open his phone and looked at Naruto's number. Where was he? He texted Naruto asking where he was. Should he call? He tried calling but his phone was off. He looked at his lunch. He no longer felt hungry.

The bell rang signaling the end of the school day. Everyone started putting their things away and zipping their bags shut. Sasuke slung his backpack over one shoulder. He almost made it through the door when someone stepped in front of him.

"Sasuke!" A whining voice made him cringe.

"Sakura…" he looked at her with no expression.

"Ino and I are going to get ice cream, care to join?" she gave him a smile.

"No, I'm going to look for Naruto."

"Why, he's probably just skipping. Come on Sasuke."

"I don't like ice cream. I'm going to go now." He stepped around her and into the hallway.

"What are you his fucking boyfriend?" she mumbled behind him. He kept walking pretending not to hear her.

 **143**

Sasuke walked in the humid weather towards Naruto's house. He trudged up the incline of the road with the sun at his back. He whipped his sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. When he made it to the top of the incline he spotted Naruto. He was sitting on the steps outside of his house. He was eating a popsicle. Sasuke suddenly felt angry at the sight. He stopped in front of Naruto who was enjoying his frozen treat.

"Why weren't you at school?" Naruto looked up at Sasuke.

"I didn't feel like explaining this." The blonde pointed to his face. His lip was split and he had bruising on his nose plus a black eye was forming. Sasuke sat next to him on the steps.

"Does it hurt?" Sasuke sighed.

"A little bit," Naruto chuckled.

"How long?"

"What?" Naruto bit the popsicle.

"How long has he been beating you?" Sasuke picked at a string on his pants.

"As long as I can remember." Naruto licked some melted popsicle from his hand.

"…I still don't get why you haven't said anything to anyone."

"It'll get complicated…after a few more years it'll be fine."

"Naruto-"

"Why do you care so much?" Naruto bit into the popsicle again. Sasuke stood up and move in front of Naruto.

"It's because I'm your friend Naruto. It hurts me to see you like this. You've been hiding this for a long time. You've been putting up a front with everyone, pretending you're okay. What I saw last night was someone who wasn't okay and someone who needed help." Sasuke walked away. Naruto called after him but the raven haired teen didn't look back. He kept walking. Naruto's chest ached as he watched his friend walk away.


End file.
